The original Halloween was and still is my most terrifying experience in a cinema, for reasons that only partly relate to the film itself. True, John Carpenter’s 1978 original is a masterpiece of horror cinema. He practically invented the whole slasher genre, and unwittingly ushered in a slew of inferior imitations. I saw Halloween…
The Misfits
The Misfits, Marilyn Monroe’s final film, was written for her by her (ex) husband, the great American playwright Arthur Miller. Monroe stars alongside fellow greats Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, and the movie has a poignant sadness about it seeing movie stars past their prime playing characters past theirs, and knowing it too. Gable died…
The Breakfast Club
I saw The Breakfast Club with low expectations when reviewing movies for my student newspaper. It turned out to be one of the classic teen movies of the 80s. It is my favourite from the late director John Hughes, who also gave us teen classics Ferris Bueller and Pretty In Pink, amongst many more. These…
Gloria / The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie
I must admit I was never much of a fan of John Cassavetes’ movies. These, however, are two of his more commercial efforts. Cassavetes made his living as a character actor (in The Dirty Dozen and Rosemary’s Baby amongst others), but his passion was directing. HIs movies were usually low budget and partially self-financed. They have…
One Million Years BC
One Million Years BC is one of the better-loved non-horror movies that Hammer Films produced in the 60s, and with good reason. It has two main selling points: Ray Harryhausen’s fabulous stop-motion dinosaurs (state-of-the-art in the days before CGI), and Raquel Welch in a fur bikini! In the light of those, who cares that the…
North Sea Hijack
Roger Moore made North Sea Hijack immediately after Moonraker, and this poster very knowingly apes the classic “Bond with gun” pose. This is somewhat ironic, as Moore very much plays against type here – portraying a bearded, eccentric cat-loving anti-terrorism expert, who goes by the name of Rufus Excalibur ffolkes! From memory, I think the character…
Young Frankenstein / High Anxiety
I’m not much of a Mel Brooks fan, but these French posters showcase two of his better attempts at spoofing beloved genres. Personally, I didn’t find Young Frankenstein particularly funny, but I must admit it is a wonderful pastiche of the original Universal monster movies. Its black and white photography, in particular, really captures the…
Purple Rain
I saw Purple Rain at the press screening in Norwich before anyone other than diehard fans had ever hear of Prince. I thought his acting was quite dreadful, and the plot is pure cliche, but it was apparent that he had a charisma about him. Plus, of course, all the songs and stage performances were…
High Plains Drifter / Pale Rider
These are two mythical Westerns from Clint Eastwood, both of which essentially have the same conceit – the Clint character is the reincarnation of a dead lawman murdered by bandits, who returns to deliver justice to the perpetrators. High Plains Drifter was the first Western Clint directed himself, and the influence of Sergio Leone looms…
The Enforcer
I’m a big Humphrey Bogart fan but I’m not sure if I have ever seen 1951’s The Enforcer. Aside from sharing its title with a much later Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry sequel, I know it is a police procedural cum film noir. The movie was released under the title Murder Inc. in the UK, which…